


Snow Kitten

by theHunter_and_theNinja



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Kitten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21522568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theHunter_and_theNinja/pseuds/theHunter_and_theNinja
Summary: Daryl finds a kitten barely clinging to life in a snow bank while he’s out hunting.
Relationships: Connie/Daryl Dixon, Daryl Dixon & Daryl Dixon's Dog
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	Snow Kitten

Daryl huffed he trudged through the snow, the cold winter air stinging his eyes. It was late January and a massive snow storm had just moved through the area dropping nearly three feet of snow. Everyone had been trapped in their respective communities until the storm stopped and they were able to see more than two feet in front of them. It was his first time out hunting since the snow hit and he desperately needed to catch something. Their supplies were starting to run thin at Hilltop and not everyone was super keen on eating bean soup as their protein everyday for the foreseeable future.

Connie had tried to keep him from going out, but he’d resisted. He knew he’d get an earful from her about it later, but he honestly needed this. Being trapped behind those walls and crammed into a tiny trailer with seven other people had put him on edge. He needed to be out here, even if only for a few hours.

Dog sniffed the air, still tracking the deer tracks they’d noticed earlier. He already had a squirrel and a rabbit, but that would barely feed ten people. Daryl squinted against the breeze as he looked through the trees, trying to find any trace of the buck. He knew the tracks were fresh though since if they were more than twelve hours old, they would’ve been covered by the snow.

Dog plowed on ahead, the snow not seeming to bother him at all. He had on snow booties to protect his paws made for him by a woman at Alexandria. He was also wearing a dog coat found at a department store by one of Hilltop’s runners. Connie thought dog looked adorable in his brown booties and blue coat, and Daryl had to admit that she was right.

Connie seemed immune to the cold. She’d grown up in New York and was very used to the cold. She was one of the few people who’d braved the snow to go get food out of the cellar everyday. The only inconsistency was that her hands were always cold and she would often shove them up his shirt at night since he’s, according to her, a walking furnace.

Right now, however, he wasn’t feeling like a walking furnace. He was very much feeling the cold. Despite having lived in Virginia now for over six years now, he still wasn’t used to how cold it can get here. He missed the heat of Georgia and often wished he was still there when the temperature dropped so low he could spit and it would turn to ice midair. Connie would often tease him about his aversion to the cold and throw snowballs at him when he wasn’t looking just to mess with him.

He and Connie have been together now for just under a year and he honestly could barely believe it. This was his first real relationship and he was sure that he was going to ruin it. He almost did ruin it just a month after they officially got together when he left for a few days without telling her where he was going. He wasn’t used to having to tell someone when he felt like going out and had forgotten to tell her. She was pissed when he got back and yelled at him for a good two hours. He’d apologized after seeing how upset and worried she’d been about him and he hasn’t done it since.

Daryl saw Dog pause in front of him and point to their let. There, hidden between the trees was a buck. Daryl signalled for Dog to stick close as they both moved forward, stalking their prey. Once he was close enough, he fired off an arrow, sending it straight through the side of the buck’s head. The deer collapsed and Dog took off towards it to protect the kill until Daryl got there. It didn’t take him long to catch up and dress the dear, prepping it to take it back. It looked to weigh a good 100 lbs and Daryl was satisfied that it would feed Hilltop well.

He was about to leave the area when he noticed Dog sniffing around in a snowbank. There was a tiny trail of paw prints leading from a tree to a small black spot almost entirely covered in snow. Curious, Daryl went over to look at the small form and was shocked to see that it was a kitten. The poor thing was most likely dead, but he didn’t want to leave it out here for some walker to eat. He leaned down and scooped the body up deciding to bury it.

The tiny kitten reminded him of the cat he’d had as a child. He’d found a black cat, Shadow, in the woods and befriended it. It was an older cat with scars from past fights, but he’d thought it was the cutest thing. He’d taken the cat home with him one day to protect it during a nasty thunderstorm, but his father didn’t like that. His father shot the cat with his hunting rifle and then beat him for bringing a wild animal into the house. He’d cried so hard while burying Shadow deep in the woods, visiting the grave everyday for months.

Daryl looked down at the kitten in his hands and nearly dropped it when it let out a pathetic mewl. He couldn’t believe that it was alive at all. He pulled the scarf from around his neck and carefully wrapped the kit up. He needed to get the kit warm as soon as possible or it would die. Goosebumps spread over his now exposed neck, but he ignored his own discomfort. Dog came over and sniffed his hands, breathing hot air down onto the kitten who mewled in response.

“Here ya go little one,” he said tucking the kitten into his bag, “I’m gonna get you home.”

Knowing that time was of the essence, Daryl grabbed the deer and started hauling it home. Dog bounded ahead in front of him like he knew just what was at stake, and he probably did. Daryl had found him nearly dead in the forest as a pup as well. Of course it hadn’t been in a snowbank in January, but he probably knew just how important it was for them to get back.

Daryl paused every so often to pet the kitten and make sure it was doing okay. He kept his ears open, constantly listening for the tiny mewls of the black furrball in his bag that let him know it was alive. It seemed to be doing a little better now that it was wrapped up in his warm wool scarf, but they weren’t out of danger yet.

The gates of Hilltop finally appeared in front of them and Dog practically booked it to the gate, barking wildly. The gates swung open, but Dog waited for Daryl to catch up, pacing back and forth in front of the opening. Once Daryl was through the gates, he made a beeline for the kitchens. He wanted to drop the deer off and get some milk for the kit to drink if it was able to.

“Oh Daryl, you are a sight for sore eyes,” Maria, the head cook, exclaimed upon seeing the deer, “I was worried we’d have to make bean soup for the third night in a row.”

Daryl dropped the deer on the table for her to butcher, rolling his shoulders. They were sore from the strain of carrying it so far, so fast. He would normally have taken a few breaks between where he shot it and Hilltop, but today he hadn’t had that luxury.

“You got any spare milk?” Daryl asked lifting his bag over his head carefully.

Maria was confused by the request as Daryl had never asked for milk before.

“Whatever for?” she wondered, placing her butcher’s knife on the table.

She gasped in shock when he produced his scarf from his bag and opened it to reveal a tiny, black kitten. The kit mewled, shivering against Daryl’s fingertips as he brushed the hair on its head.

“Found it in a snowbank when I shot the deer,” Daryl explained, “Thought it was dead when I first saw it. It wasn’t until it made a noise that I knew it was even alive.”

“I’ll go get you that milk,” Maria said, leaving to go get it.

Daryl sat down in a chair and started rubbing the kit between the sides of the scarf to warm it up. Now that he was back, he was able to get a better look at it. He first noticed that it was a girl and she had a small white spot on her forehead. All four of her paws were white too, making it look like she had little socks on. Dog was sitting on the floor beside him as he tried to warm up the kitten. He was watching Daryl’s movements intently, whining every once and awhile.

“I know Dog,” Daryl said pausing to scratch behind Dog’s ears, “I hope she makes it, too.”

Dog whined and licked Daryl’s hand, nose it back to the kitten. Daryl chuckled at Dog’s protectiveness of the kit, but he had to credit Dog with finding her. He never would’ve paid any attention to the snowbank if he hadn’t been sniffing all over it. The door opened next to him and Connie walked in, shaking the snow off her boots.

_ “I heard you were back,” _ she started but then stopped short when she saw what was in Daryl’s lap.

She gasped and hurried over, kneeling down beside him to see the kitten closer. She couldn’t believe that it was even real. She hadn’t seen a kitten since before the turn.

_ “Where did you find it?” _ she asked looking up at her boyfriend.

“Dog found her in a snowbank,” he explained, “Thought she was dead until she started talking.”

He would’ve signed, but his hands were a little busy trying to rub some warmth into the kit on his lap. Connie reached over and ran her fingers between her tiny ears, watching her mouth open and close with every mewl. Daryl could tell she was starting to get warmer as she was moving more and more. Maria eventually came back holding a cup full of warm milk.

“I figured it would be best if I warmed it up a little,” she explained, “drinking something cold probably wouldn’t help her too much.”

“I’m not sure she’ll be able to drink that on her own,” Daryl sighed, “You got an eyedropper or something?”

“Um,” Maria mused looking around, “I don’t have that, but I might have a turkey baster.”

Maria placed the milk down on the table and opened up a drawer, rifling through it before producing a turkey baster. It was definitely bigger than he’d been hoping for, but it should work as long as the tip was small enough to fit in her mouth.

“Connie, can you feed her while I hold her?” he asked, motioning with his head towards the milk.

_ “Sure,” _ she agreed, accepting the baster from Maria.

“Maria, do you think you could find me a couple fresh blanket?”

“I think I know where to get some. I’ll be right back,” she nodded and left.

Daryl did his best to prop the kitten up in a way that Connie could feed her, if she would accept the food. Connie sucked some of the milk into the baster and brought it to the kitten’s mouth, but she refused to let it stay near her mouth. Daryl sighed as the kit squirmed in his hands, crying out constantly.

“Try squeezing a drop into her mouth,” he suggested.

Connie nodded in understanding and lined the baster up again with the kitten’s mouth. She bit her lip in concentration as she tried to get only the smallest bit out of the baster and into the kit’s mouth. She was mostly successful as a couple drops fell from the baster into the kit’s mouth, but because the baster was so big, a few drops also fell onto Daryl’s scarf.

_ “Sorry,” _ Connie apologized.

“It’s fine, I can wash the scarf,” Daryl assured her.

Now that the kit new it was milk, she was trying to suckle at the tip of the baster. Connie was careful to control how much milk she let out at once as she squeezed the milk into the kit’s mouth. It was a very messy process with milk splashing on Daryl’s scarf and onto the kitten. The milk eventually leaked through the holes in his scarf and started wetting his hands and jeans. He ignored it though, too focused on the small life in his lap.

Eventually, the kit pulled away from the baster, letting them know she’d had enough. She was moving freely now, the cold gone from her small body and her belly full of milk. She wasn’t mewling as much and when she did, it didn’t sound quite as distressed. Her eyes had opened at some point during the feeding and the bright blue of her eyes made them smile.

_ “What are we going to do with her?” _ Connie asked, sitting down on the floor by Daryl’s feet.

Daryl shrugged, “Know anybody who wants a kitten?”

Connie honestly couldn’t think of anyone who’d want to look after such a young kitten. She was going to need a lot of care over the next couple days if she was going to survive. She couldn’t be more than a week or two old based on her size. Dog shuffled closer on his paws, putting his head on Daryl’s leg, his nose inches away from the kitten. She saw Dog’s nose appear and wandered over in curiosity. She climbed up onto his nose and laid down and Dog just let her do it.

_ “I think Dog’s already in love with her,” _ Connie giggled as she watched the two interact, smiling as Dog let the small black kitten use his muzzle as a bed.

_ “I was afraid of that,” _ Daryl chuckled,  _ “I don’t think he’s going to be willing to give her up.” _

_ “We could keep her,” _ Connie suggested, shrugging nonchalantly.

Daryl sighed looking down at the scene in his lap, the kitten now fully asleep on Dog’s nose.

_ “I think we have to. I mean, look at this. He’s become her bed.” _

Connie smiled up at her boyfriend who was completely absorbed in the image of their new kitten sleeping on Dog. Her sleeping comfortably on his muzzle proved how small she is since it wasn’t particularly wide.

_ “What are we going to name her?” _ Daryl asked,  _ “I don’t think you’ll let me just call her kitten.” _

_ “Her feet look like little spots of snow,” _ Connie observed, gently scratching behind the kitten’s ears,  _ “We could name her snowflake?” _

Daryl thought about it, but decided it was too generic,  _ “How about Snowpaw since it’s her feet that look like snow?” _

_ “I like it. We can call her Snow for short.” _

_ “It feels a little funny naming her after the thing that almost killed her,” _ Daryl mused, watching Snowpaw shift a bit on Dog’s nose.

_ “I think it’s nice. She survived the snow when she really shouldn’t have.” _

Daryl nodded,  _ “It suits her.” _

Petting her tiny head, he whispered, “Welcome to the family Snowpaw.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! <3
> 
> I am still accepting fic ideas. Send me a message on here or on my Tumblr @thehunter-and-theninja if you have a fic idea you'd like to see brought to life.


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